There are few places I enjoy more than being in a classroom. Perhaps this is strange, but people who enjoy being students will appreciate this. Basically, I love learning, and part of any learning process involves investigating different sources in order to find out what different people have to say about a particular thing or idea.

In order to maintain the spirit of the classroom, I often seek out books on similar subjects, and for this project, I have begun to read what various books have to say about the Bible in order to inform my impression and understanding of it. My goal has never been to become a Bible scholar but I continue to be curious about what others think about this ancient text.

As I continue to process all that I read in the Bible—and take in the uptick of news stories about people looking to use the Bible to justify bigotry (in the form of “Religious Freedom” laws across the country)—I want to know what other people think about the conversation involving the Bible’s ideas.

The first book I have read takes a close look at the Gospels, questions who actually wrote these very important books of the New Testament, and even analyzes specific passages in context in order to arrive at an improved understanding of what is contained there: Randel McCraw Helms’ Who Wrote the Gospels?

Helms does not appear to have any non-religious political agenda that I could detect (he’s not out to say we should discount the Gospels based on his findings). No, he seems concerned with understanding what was set down in the books, by whom, and when. Are these gospels fiction or biography? What he reveals is quite interesting. Is he right? I’m not sure, and, to be honest, no one can “prove” him correct or incorrect. But his methods appear above-board and worth listening to, especially since so much of his direct textual evidence should not be ignored.

Over the next few weeks, through my posts, I will digest his ideas, examining what he has to say about each of the Gospels, and then discuss how they impact my thoughts on the four New Testament Gospels.

I was expecting a boring book; however, I discovered a very interesting read, one that would have made no sense had I not first had the context of my own reading of the Bible. I look forward to how his ideas impact my impressions of the Gospels and deepen my understanding of the Bible in general.

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About virgowriter

Brad Windhauser has a Master's in English from Rutgers University (Camden campus) and an MFA in creative writing from Queens University of Charlotte. He is an Associate Professor (Teaching/Instruction) in the English Department at Temple University. His short stories have appeared in The Baltimore Review, The Santa Fe Writer's Project Journal, Ray's Road Review, Philadelphia Review of Books, Northern Liberty Review, and Jonathan.
His first novel, Regret (a gay-themed thriller set in Philadelphia) was published in 2007. You can read more about (and buy) it here: http://goo.gl/yvT24K
His second novel, The Intersection, is being published by Black Rose Writing September 2016.
He is one of five regular contributors to 5Writer.com.
On his solo blog, he is chronicling his experience as a gay writer reading the Bible for the first time: www.BibleProjectBlog.com
Follow his work at: www.BradWindhauser.com
VirgoWriter@gmail.com